A 64-year-old woman says she's been left too scared to leave her home after a callous thief snatched her handbag in broad daylight.

The woman was targeted as she walked along Beaumont Road in St Judes.

She was left distressed and shaken after someone set upon her on Friday afternoon as she walked with her friend and got away with her handbag - which contained her purse, £20 in cash and her housing association rent card.

The victim, who has asked not to be identified, is now wary about going back out alone - but hopes police will be able to track down the hoodie-wearing thug who fled with her possessions.

The 64-year-old was left with cuts and bruises (Image: Penny Cross)

The woman, who was left with cuts and bruises to her hands and knees following the shocking incident, said: "It's left me shaken up. On Friday night I slept on the sofa, I hardly went to sleep.

"I feel bad about it all. It's never happened to me before, ever, and I am 64. I walk around the streets and visit people, I go to the shops, I have to go out.

"But it's made me wary. It's made me afraid to go out. When I do go back out I'll be looking behind me and over my shoulder."